Beauty industry trailblazer Bronwyn Conroy died two days after her 85th birthday following a fall at her home last year, an inquest has heard. The Galway -born entrepreneur – who was known for her beauty therapy training school and a range of beauty salons – died at Dublin’s Mater Hospital on June 3, 2023, four days after being discovered by one of her children lying on the ground at her home in Stillorgan, south Dublin. The glamorous and astute mother of two, who was predeceased by her first husband Liam Malone, opened her first beauty therapy training school at Mount Street Upper in Dublin in 1972.
Graduates of her training school, known as ‘Bronwyn Girls’, were highly regarded in the industry at a time when there was no regulation within the sector. The entrepreneur also ran several beauty salons as well as developing her own range of skincare and beauty products. The grandmother of four – who was born and raised in Salthill, Galway – dropped out of her science degree course at the University of Galway before joining Aer Lingus as a ground hostess at Shannon Airport and later moving into cosmetics.
During her time in the beauty industry, she worked for the Helena Rubinstein cosmetics brand as well as for Revlon. She also wrote a beauty column in the Sunday Press for 25 years. The Bronwyn Conroy International Beauty School – which she founded in 1972 and sold in 2014 to businesswoman Anna Keely – continues to trade under its original name and has prestigio.